A dog harness is a piece of equipment for dogs, worn around a dog's torso and/or neck. The dog harness usually has a loop structure, which surrounds a dog's torso and/or neck, and a leash attachment means to be connected to a leash. The dog harness and leash are usually used together to restrain or control a dog, commonly used when walking a dog. Instead of the loop structure, a garment may be used to surround a dog's torso, including a dog's chest and/or belly.
Compared to a collar worn around a neck, a dog harness is better in preventing choking or lowering chance of slipping out of it because of its structure surrounding a dog's torso and neck and thereby distributing force. Thus, a dog harness is growing in popularity among many dog owners, especially for those having smaller breed dogs. The dog harness is also useful for controlling, directing and teaching the dog.
However, a dog harness is not free from the issue of slipping out. If a dog trying to move forward or backward against the direction of the leash held by a user, a dog harness may become loose and a dog may slip out of it and escape. Especially, when a dog tries hard to move backward against the pulling force of the leash held by a user and lower its head, there may be a room formed and getting bigger between the dog's back of neck and the leash connector connecting the leash and the dog harness, thereby allowing the dog to slip out and escape the dog harness.
Nor is a dog harness free from the issue of preventing the user from uncoupling the leash and/or removing the harness from the dog after finishing an activity together. If a dog tries to move forward or backward against the direction of the leash held by a user, the harness and/or the leash may be difficult to be released from the dog due to the difficult nature of disassociating the two elements from each other and from the dog while the dog is moving. An example may include the scenario where couplers interfacing the harness and the leash may be difficult to reach or manipulate on a moving animal.
Nor is a dog harness free from the issue of preventing undue stress to a dog. If a dog tries to move forward or backward against the direction of the leash held by a user, a dog harness may tighten in a manner that may cause undue stress to the dog. Ill fitting, poorly constructed, or poorly implemented structural elements of a dog harness may prevent straps from slackening in a proper window of time, especially if the dog is being uncooperative. For example, when the dog is moving about or being uncooperative, the pressing of the dog's body against a fastener or coupler may prevent a strap or even the leash from slackening which may lead to the harness to tighten unintentionally. This tightening of the strap can add stress to the dog.
Nor are straps of a dog harness easily adjustable by the user, especially if the dog is moving or is being uncooperative. Generally, coupling members that couple straps of a dog harness to a leash, ostensibly to allow the leash to control the dog harness, come in flat profiles. A flat profile may lead to difficulty for a user to adjust the straps by hand or through a leash when the dog harness is worn by a dog because the straps may press against the dog's torso and, at the same time, press against the coupling member while adjusting them, thus the strap experiences friction against the dog's torso and friction against the coupling member. The overall amount of friction may make strap adjustment extremely difficult, and thus, a frustrating experience for the user.
Therefore, to solve the above problems, there is a need for a dog harness to have a coupling member that provides for a freely moving leash strap that not only tightens and fastens the dog's torso but also allows slackening of the leash strap for the dog's safety when the dog tries to move backwards to escape from the dog harness. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.